A year ago in Japan, Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corporation President, revealed 16 pure-electric models designed to help the firm — comprising the Lexus and Toyota brands — to go carbon neutral by 2050. The star of that line-up was the Lexus Electrified Sport, a sensational two-door sports car with low-slung bodywork unlike anything else in the existing Lexus portfolio.

It was assumed to be a pie-in-the-sky concept, designed to grab the public’s imagination as Lexus works toward full electrification of its line-up.

But the same car took centre stage at a recent “Kenshiki” preview event and Takashi Watanabe, Lexus Electrified Chief Engineer, confirmed that his team was actively working on a production version of the coupé.

He said: “Of course, I cannot tell you when we will be launching a production vehicle based on the Electrified Sport, but I can confirm that we are working on it. This is not just a design concept; it is meant to become reality.”

High-performance electric powertrain

One target that has been set for the Lexus supercar is a 0-62mph time of not much longer than two seconds. It is assumed that, unless the weight can be kept dramatically low, an electric sports car would likely need close to 1,000bhp to achieve such a time.

It’s also highly likely that all-wheel drive would be employed for maximum traction, requiring a minimum of an electric motor for each axle, though a three-motor setup — one on the front…